Skillful attention to lived experience, willingness to face fear, and awareness of spaciousness from which everything arises result in a dynamic and vital life experience. See my book "Being Prayer" for explanation of these practices being appropriate for any tradition, particularly Christianity.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

If your consciousness is not distracted and scattered externally
nor stuck internally,
and if by not clinging you do not become agitated,
then for you there is no origination of suffering....

Reading this passage by itself may be useful, but its real value comes when you actually bring it into your daily life

You might first ask yourself:
Can I notice times when I am distracted and scattered externally? When the world pulls me into its spinning?
When I let needs of others throw me off balance?

In a day or two move to the following exploration.
Do I get stuck internally? Am I so focused on keeping balance, in protecting my space, that I do not even notice others? That I don't notice small pleasures? Like the falling rain and sound of thunder? A flower blooming beside me?

Then come back to exploring balance of the two
Both in practice and in life - can I rest in a secure base of my own and open to others? Do I hear others, but also listen to my self? Do I listen to the voices of both body and mind? Internally and externally?

Also consider bringing this exploration into very subtle investigations of experience in your meditation practice.
Where does your attention go when you close your eyes? What happens to your attention after you spend some time stabilizing the mind? Is the rate of changing attention different? Do different objects draw your attention?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

35. Being firmly grounded in nonviolence creates atmosphere in which others can let go of their hostility.
36. For those grounded in truthfulness, every action and it's consequences are imbued with truth.
37. For those with no inclination to steal, the truly precious is at hand.
38. The chaste acquire vitality.
39. Freedom from wanting unlocks the real purpose of existence.

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We need only invoke the power of mindful awareness in any action of body, speech or mind to elevate that action from the unconscious reflex of a trained creature to the awakened choice of a human being who is guided to a higher life by wisdom. - Andrew Olendzki